This is ME...by Penelope

This is an autobiography by Penelope. She wrote this for school, but I thought I would share it here on our family blog.

My name is Penelope Kay Litzen. I am nine, and I was born on October 17th, in 1998. I love the Lord! I love dogs too, especially Shelties and Terriers. I love swimming, drawing, and bright pretty colors. I like to ride my horses, ride my bike, and play b-ball.

My favorite subjects in school are science and especially P.E

I have an eleven year old sister named Chena D. My mom's name is Geri Kay and my dad's name is Michael James. I have a brother named Lex too.

My best friends are Chloe and Jemmi. I have 12 first cousins, (but one is not born yet) and I have no idea how many second or even third cousins I have!

I collect agates, and I have lots of pets. I have a bunny named Mossy Meadow, a Rat Terrier/Fox Terrier named Pluto, and a cat named Penguin. Those are just MY pets. We have lots more.
My favorite foods are pizza, breakfast foods (like breakfast burritos!) enchiladas, PB & J, syrup sandwiches, and all kinds of bread.

Thats all I have for you so far!

Random Shots of Summer from Shutter Bug-dom

I take pictures of us just breathing. So if we breathe AND combine it with something else, then I take even more pics! LOL. I have always been a shutter bug. Even when I was a kid. If somebody left a camera laying somewhere, I would grab it and take pics of the wall, the rug, my brother's black eye, the cat's tail (I could never get the whole cat, it kept moving) etc.

And I am even worse now. But I enjoy it. In fact, I cannot fully enjoy something without looking at it through my lens AND my eyes. Might be pathetic but hey, its who I am.

I thought it might be fun to just throw out a bunch of random shots. I am not even going to say what is going on in the picture. You write your own story! It might be more interesting than the reality of the moment. Then again, it might not.

Hopelessly Flawed and Pretty Much Ok With It

I like reading blogs. Its like finding new friends all the time. Or reading a book, and if you don't like where it is going, just laying it down and never picking it back up again. But, on the other hand, if you like the characters, its like a book that you ADORE and you never have to read that last word! I mean, doncha hate it when you finish a fantastic book and you actually MISS the people in the book? Like you want to be their friend and be on their Christmas card list, and all of the sudden they are gone from your life forever because they were only characters in a book and the book is over. You finished reading it. And it stinks. Only book lovers would understand. They get me.

Anyway, where was I going with this? Oh yes. I was saying I like reading blogs. But, its quite easy to create a false-world on a blog. You can post about your perfect children, your winning contest entry, your perfectly baked bread, the bestest most sunny day ever, your excellent garden, sweetest and most handsome husband......you get the idea.

My life? Not a hallmark card. Not predictable and ordered and alphabetically arranged. It has AWESOME moments and I am totally blessed beyond measure, no question. And I love my life! But I am flawed. Step through those doors (watch for dead shrew my cats carry in) and welcome to the real world! My children sometimes drive me crazy and I yell at them, especially before I have my coffee. And I drink too much coffee, and own tons of shoes I don't wear, and have an entire attic of "keepsakes" because everything I have ever owned or the children wore, touched, made, looked at, or chewed up is a keepsake, and I cannot stand to touch dirt, and I scream at spiders. Even the tiny ones. I don't make perfect bread. I don't make any bread, but if I did it would not be perfect. Ok, I do make banana bread but that is because I am very good at letting fruit rot. And then you have to do something with it.
I kill plants. I could murder a silk flower by looking at it. I have droopy pansies because we have not had enough sun, and I walk around and talk to them and give them pep talks.
Did I mention how much I miss the sun? Oh not yet? Because my husband says I say it about every five minutes. And speaking of him, he is totally cute and a super charmer and a way cool pilot but he drives me crazy sometimes. Oh I drive him nuts too. He calls me his Princess, but not in a good way. Not in a "You are my princess and I worship you and I am your Prince" kind of way but in a "Oh dear, my Princess needs a rescue..again? I told you not to run the car out of gas" kind of way. Well ok. Sometimes he says Princess in a way that says he would marry me all over again. And that makes me melt. If its after my coffee, that is.

I am a terrible night owl too. So if tomorrow I want to take it all back, please let me. Especially before my coffee kicks in.

Treasure Hunt

As you know, we are American Girl doll fans. Big ones. The girls play dolls with their friends whenever they come over. They love to play out on the lawn. I have an antique wagon I use for plants, and they quickly turn it into a "covered wagon" so they can play Little House on the Prairie.
So, as a big surprise and out of appreciation for all the hard work they do for our family, I ordered a new doll last week. Her name is Ruthie, for any fellow AG fans!
When she arrived, the lady at the post office got so excited, she had me open the box so that she could see the doll. Then she suggested I give it to them using a treasure hunt. I had already planned on it! I love making up clues, watching them hunt, and feeling like a kid while I run along. Its just so fun!
So while they played at the neighbor's house, I wrote clues, hid them all, then hid the doll box.

The girls were so excited to go on a hunt, although they had no idea what they were hunting for. I am blessed with very enthusiastic children. They go along with all of my ideas quite readily!

Soon they were chasing down clues. I could not believe how quickly they figured it all out, and they were soon hunting down the final treasure. The last clue was "Airplanes in and airplanes out, look all around it, then give a shout!" They thought it was the lake at first, but then realized it was the hangar, but on the outside. They found the doll box under a tree under some bushes. They got so excited. But then they saw the note that read "Its just some old plane parts of Dad's, but I thought the hunt would be kind of fun anyway. Love Mom." They were NOT fooled!

They tore open the box! (they could not believe the box was really what it said it was)


Here she is! She really is super cute!

Penelope Kay. Notice new shortie hair cut.


I don't know if they will remember this day when they grow up. Will a doll, a treasure hunt, a grey Alaskan day turned a little bit brighter, and a crazy mom running around behind them with a camera stay in their memories of childhood? I dunno. But I know I adored every minute spending it with them. And it will always be one of MY treasured memories.

Wild Ride!

Super duper fun awaits you when you take a windy lake, a fast boat, a rope, a COUCH, and laughing children! We went to some friend's of ours for a BBQ, and they introduced us to a really fun, wet and wild adventure. Hang on girls!

Getting ready to go out. Holding on quite tightly!

Coming right at me. Gonna get splashed!

Everybody get ready! Wanna try to flip it? (all the girls say "Yeah!")

Dandelion on the dock. She wanted to chase the boat.

The guys hanging out by the fire.

Zooming right by! Still have not flipped it, but waves are getting bigger!

As the wake gets bigger and they keep jumping it, those little girls are flying high! They want to flip it sooooo bad!

Oooops, there they go. And they are in the drink. Success!

Before they flipped!

And after!
They sure had a blast. Sure, they were shivering, staggering over to the fire, covered with goosebumps and begging for warm blankets and s'mores. But they would not trade it for anything!

Happy Fourth of July!!!!!!!!!!

It was another fantastic McGahan family picnic at our place. We have hosted it for eleven years, and I totally love it! Its so much fun to just see all the family, all those faces we love, and faces we know, and even faces we know and love. LOL. Its all good!

We thought we might get rained out, but planned on opening up the hangar if it came down to that. It would be dry in there for the food at least, and the games could still go on outside. But, it dried up as we got home from the parade, and stayed nice all day! Woo hoo!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Uncle Dale and Aunt Donna. He's our hero who said the weather would improve, and not to worry! Amazing weather-man in our midst.

Tons of photos, so I will just throw a bunch on here for the family who could not make it. Maybe if I am not too lazy, I will even caption a few so you know what is going on!

This is the live minnow that had to be captured in a dixie cup to win the Scavenger Hunt.

Proud to win a medal in the Sack Races!

The whole team had to form a pyramid, for the Scavenger Hunt. Oopsy Daisy!

And they are off! Heading back from the lake in the Scavenger Hunt.

My dad and his dear friend Dale, a wonderful visitor from Michigan.

Sack racing! They take this pretty seriously!

Penelope "watering flowers" in the Homestead Relay.

Drat those chickens keep escaping! Rounding up live hens for the Homestead Relay!

Volleyball is always a favorite, they grab teams and ROCK and ROLL! (and don't stop!)

Cute little egg hunter!

Water balloon fight! And I think eventually they went straight to the garden hose!

Proud to be little Americans!

Sandbox Dig time for the littlest ones. Lots of coins to find, but they were not sure what to do.

Help me Daddy!

What a handsome Daddy of mine! And wow, my flowers look GOOD t00!

Big Chief Cook-Em-Dogs, aka Uncle Beaver.

Getting all that good food out on the table, while hungry folk hover nearby.

Okay wise guy, walking by while I took a pic!

This was at the parade:

My cute husband and my cute puppy! I am a pretty lucky girl, huh?

Sweetest girls ever, at the parade in Kenai.

Almost lost Chena, when the girls from her riding stables grabbed her and threw her on a float! We had to chase after her, and pull her off again, or would have never found her after!

Grand Champion Float! Made by our family, the Broussards. It was amazing!!!!!!!!

Just the most adorable doggie at the parade.........

These are my fantastic Daddy and Mommy. They are always fun to watch the parade with!

Super enthusiastic Chena Girl.

Penelope and Dandelion.

Now watch who wins hands down (behind the back?) in the pie-eating contest. Yep, winner and still CHAMPION, Matt B! Notice his son coaching him. Also notice the crazed lady with the hairnet who keeps pushing more pie over toward him using her nose. Yeah, we know Mom. Totally innocent.